A delegation from the United States Transportation Security Administration is in the Simón Bolívar International Airport of Maiquetía, in the state of La Guaira, carrying out a airport security inspection.
The visit was reported on Tuesday by journalist specialized in economics Ginette González, who indicated that the mission is already underway in the country’s main air terminal.
According to the consultant and aeronautical specialist Juan Texeira Díaz, the inspection focuses on the compliance with Annex 17 of the International Civil Aviation Organization, which establishes standards and recommended practices to protect civil aviation against acts of unlawful interference.
“This TSA visit is based on inspecting everything related to ICAO Annex 17, which deals with standards and recommended methods to safeguard aviation of acts of illicit interference,” Texeira explained in a post on X.
Does not imply an automatic change
The expert clarified that the presence of the TSA does not imply an automatic change in Venezuela’s air safety category before the US authorities.
“It is false that with this visit we would go to category 1”, he stated.
For the country to recover category 1, which allows national airlines to open new routes to the United States, a different evaluation must be carried out, by the Department of Transportation through the Federal Aviation Administration and its International Safety Assessment program.
According to Texeira, this review focuses on operational security aspects, contemplated mainly in Annexes 1, 6 and 8 of the ICAO, and not on the security measures against illicit acts that the TSA evaluates.
The specialist also indicated that, in accordance with international regulations, it should There is reciprocity in this type of inspections between both countries. However, he recalled that when the FAA demoted Venezuela to category 2, it did so without a prior visit and announced it as a decision that, in his opinion, had a political and not a technical nature.
